JERUSALEM, Friday, February 07, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli police today morning turned back busloads of worshipers en route from northern Israel to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Police deployed at the entrances of Jerusalem turned back buses of Palestinian Muslim worshipers from Galilee and the Triangle region in the north of present-day Israel making their way to Al-Aqsa for Friday morning prayers.
Police also barged their way into the flashpoint mosque compound, where they shoved and assaulted worshipers following the Fajr prayer
Worshipers slammed the police practice as an infringement upon their freedom of worship and as a form of collective punishment against them.
This came as Israeli occupation authorities boosted military reinforcements in Jerusalem and across the West Bank.
This also came a day after three Palestinians were gunned down by Israeli military fire in separate areas of the West bank and 12 soldiers were injured when a Palestinian motorist drove into them in West Jerusalem.
The latest spike in violence was triggered by the recent announcement of the US-touted Mideast peace plan, dubbed deal of the century, which in fact cements Israel’s longstanding policy of permanent occupation, colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people.
Messianic Jewish settlers are hoping to establish an increased presence on the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, among the most important Muslim shrines in the world and potent symbols of Palestinian nationalism, and calling for building a third temple on what they term the “Temple Mount”.
Their far-right beliefs were once considered a small fringe movement, but in recent years, they have found favor in the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, receiving the endorsement of many lawmakers.
Settlers incursions into the mosque compound coupled with the takeover of church property in Jerusalem are perceived as part of the plan to transform a multi-religious and multi-cultural city into a “reunified” Jewish city under the exclusive control and sovereignty of Israel.
K.F.
